Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Dark rust with a lacy large-pocked head. Sparce carbonation, with just the occasional paroled bubble rising to the surface.
Sharp and biting nose of Amarillo. Pungent and dank. Piney and resinous, but with a citric twist. Toasty malts.
Begins with a multi-faceted hop assault. Herbal and floral up front. The Amarillos slowly state their dominance, as the brew grows increasingly bitter. Pine encased pink grapefruits, big tarry resin balls, and dried, earthy leaves. Not the typically bright 'rillo flavor, this is dirtier and more raw. Becomes nearly puckering, and almost makes the throat slam shut.
Is this too bitter? Nah.
English-leaning toasted biscuit malt provides stability, along with a subdued toffee presence. The cask imparts oak and sweet basil nuances.
The hand-draw imparts a suede mouthfeel up front, but it bares claws that grip the mouth and the esophagus as it goes down.
This is a beautiful, intense creation, and one of the best IPAs I've had. (973 characters)

For a beer that I order on a regular basis, I've not yet written down my love for it. A sonnet is in order methinks! (I do have time on my hands...)

Oh glorious pint of red-amber ale,
Lacing my glass with rings of glor'ious snow!
For your frothy white head I do inhale!
But Alas! Down my parched throat you must go!
Fresh streams of orange and grapefruit collide,
with lemon and caramel on my tongue.
Full hop bitterness attacks from all sides,
it's head-strong flavor that won't go unsung.
From the hand-pump it's body feels like glue,
gracing my mouth with lucious streams of mist,
and coating my throat with hop residue.
And in the end, I know why I exist:
To drink this fine ale pitcher by pitcher,
and to salute the fine folks who made her!

For you, the finest IPA to grace the streets of Madison. (823 characters)

Crystal clear copper. Bubbly tan head leaves minimal lace. Nice aroma of pine sap, citrus and cannabis over a nice toffee and caramel maltiness. Great tasting IPA. I like the caramel and toffee underlying. As well as the spicy, citric bite of the hops. Grassy and bitter. This one is a quencher. The bitterness is fairly clean and lingers nicely. The carbonation is quite low, which is to be expected of a growler filled from cask. Body is medium at best. Quite the tasty and easy drinking IPA. I'd revisit...definitely. (520 characters)

Finally! An IPA worthy of the west coast. Up front hopping with a great citrusy aroma. Malt backbone is good, but the focus here is definitely on the hops. Served on a nitrous tap, so head is very creamy. Mouthfeel is classic west coast IPA with a lingering hop slickness. This is the best beer I've had during my visit to Madison. (373 characters)

Glowing amber red color. Nice medium tan head. Not so much lacing. Big hop aroma. Really herbal and citric and piney. Nice. A butterscotchy note is found under that intense hops. Lots of resiny and chewy hop flavors are in here. Intense burst of pine and citric flavors. Fruity flavors come in next along with some herbal (lemon) flavors. The body is nice and creamy and helps everything go down really smooth. Biscuit lies underneath providing the body. Finish is a bit sticky with a pine sap feel. I'm often wary of brewpubs IPA offerings, but this one kicked ass. (566 characters)

Hazy apricot/peach, small white head...(at the pub, it was larger, but growlers can't always be perfect, I guess.)

Spicy citric hop aroma greets the nose, grapefruit, lime and mango...zesty, gorgeous, uplifting. Does the name refer to the armadillo, and is there some amarillo hop in here. Probably Cascade & Centennial?Either way, I love it!

appearance: The pour into the snifter creates a head of a few large bubbles that cover about fifty percent the surface area of the beer and soon shift to ring the glass. The color is an amber hued copper, slightly burnished. Would've rated higher but the head is not impressive at all.

smell: I've said this a couple times before, this is my kind of IPA aroma (taste, also...kinda big floral hop, and malt presence). There's a big caramel malt sweetness, perfectly offset by a considerble, but also seemingly moderate, hop aroma...it may be the good balance that gives that impression. Plenty of green, resinous aromas are provided by the hops. Tropical fruits, and a touch of dark ones. I notice that someone else mentioned butterscotch, and I most definately agree. Great. Just a touch more of the formal hop aromas, and I would've given a 5.

mouthfeel: The carbonation is pretty low, maybe towards the middle of the low range. The body is medium, but my perception may be towards that end due to the low carbonation.

taste: Pretty good balance, but just a little off kilter in favor of the malty sweetness. Definate caramel notes, as well as very slight toasted grain. The hop flavor is great, but a touch more bitterness would balance it out a little more...and that's about all it needs. Darn good.

drinkability: A great beer, definately easy to drink.

Dirtylou and I picked up this grower after dinner at The Dane tonight on this, the last night of my stay in Madison. (1,490 characters)

Tried this one at the Fitchburg location. It wasn't on the menu but I was happy when the waitress told me they had an IPA after all.

Poured a fairly transparent copper color with a bit of slightly off-white head.

Smell was nice and hoppy with some citrus and floral notes to it.

Taste was very good. Pretty balance flavor, good sweet malts to compliment the citrusy hops.

Mouthfeel was good. Went down smooth. Easy to drink beer.

Overall I liked this beer and would definitely order it again. My only complaint was that it wasn't as cold as I would have liked. It was really hot outside and I was hoping it would be a bit more refreshing. (645 characters)

Taste is broad, warm, subtle, and complex with a smoother balance then what was expected. Very well rounded hoppyness, no big edges here, straight up dark citrus of manderine orange, a good squeeze of red grapefruit pith, subjacent dry lemon peels and pine resin shadow the forefront. Bitterness is beyond in-check. The grapefruit juicyness gives most of the energy. But every rough edge and corner has been polished off by a peculiar warm toastyness thats still making me think of cinnamon toast or cinnamon biscuits. Uniquely balanced and flavored.

Feel is massively warm and thick for an IPA; full bodied, heavy creamyness ensues from front to back. Balanced more so towards the malt end as the hop tones are ghostly intertwined with more of a darker citrus tone then bright. Stiil clean though. Oh how I would like it to be a smidgeon crispier; then this would shine.

A pretty nice IPA, its thickness is pretty big and its hop tones are mellowed out compared to most. As I think through what I like about this beer is that it makes me think of what Bitter Woman would be like if it was more malt toned or perhaps aged. The Amarillos play a big role here but just not as bright as they could be. I hear this is much better on-cask, and I wouldn't doubt that for a second. Its heavier texture just begs to be pulled not pushed. (1,621 characters)

Taste: While I'm not normally an IPA drinker, this beer is eminently drinkable. The beer's medium body is really brought out by the cask, and the balance between hops and malt is reminiscent of Bell's Two-hearted, though this has a slightly more bitter finish. Nonetheless, the aftertaste balances out the slightly sweet, malty flavor. Spicy hops provide citrus and honey notes.

Drinkability: This is a totally drinkable beer, one that I could definitely see as a session beer for hopheads. Nonetheless, the balanced flavor will appeal to a wide range of beer drinkers; lacks the scorching intensity or unbalanced bitterness of some IPA. Definitely got better over the course of a pint, with a little added warmth sweetening the finish slightly. (1,148 characters)

Orange sun tea capped by a creamy, pale gold cap that was impressively persistent. This beer was one of the best lace generators that I've ever seen in a bar/brewpub. The glass opposite was decorated with a solid sheet that was accented at intervals by fat rings indicating each mouthful. Fabulous.

The nose was definitely IPA hoppy. I'm not sure what the hop bill consists of (and won't even hazard a guess), but an abundance of citrus fruitiness makes me think that at least one of the C-hops was in there. Might 'Texas' be referring to Amarillo?

The flavor was good without being amazingly good. In the interest of full disclosure, I drank Texas Speedbump after my meal, not before. Drinking the pint with a clean palate might have nudged the flavor score up a notch. In any case, it was deliciously hoppy beer that I enjoyed immensely.

The malt was in the background, just as it should have been, but still managed to provide enough underlying sweetness to get the job done. I would have liked more pale and less caramel so that the hops could have shined a bit brighter. The flavor can be summed up in three words: white grapefruit pith. The beer was firmly bitter without being overpowering.

Although the mouthfeel was the weakest of TSIPA's characteristics, it still managed to grab the bottom rung of the IPA ladder. A little more heft would have been welcome. I didn't see whether it came from a cask or a tap, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the former.

Texas Speedbump IPA is appropriately named. It's hoppy enough to slow you down, but not so over-the-top that it'll stop you dead in your tracks (I'd like to give Texas Tire Puncture Strip IPA a shot). If there's a 'next time' for me at Great Dane, I'll either order this one first or bring a growler home with me. Maybe both. (1,801 characters)

Based on the name, I was expecting Amarillo hops. Now I don't exactly know where Amarillo hops got their name, but there is a town called Amarillo in Texas and that's good enough for me. The "speedbump", ah well, I haven't got a clue on that one. Maybe it refers to the burp ;)

Cask. Gotta love the Dane for that! Frothy/creamy light tan head held well and left some nice lace behind. Clear deep-amber/copper body. Soft in the mouth. Medium body. Smooth. And I like that because sometimes the carbonation will increase the perceived bitterness of a beer, and with an IPA a bit of softness can really make it into almost another brew. I'd like to try this one on the regular tap!

The nose is citrusy with grapefruit and a delicate touch of pineapple, coated in resiny pine and spruce character. A mild bit of the caramelish malt makes it's way through at times. Nice!

Maltiness is able to hold its own in the flavor, and it balances a softly sweet, caramelish, and just lightly buttery maltiness against the kind of raspy, sharper, piney and citrusy hop flavors. The don't fight each other or clash, but come together quite nicely across the middle. The bitterness is soft and allows the malty sweetness to come through (I'm not sure if that has anything to do with being served on cask or not), leaving it to fade away in the finish rather than end abruptly bitter.

Overall, the speedbump is a remarkably soft and well-rounded IPA that's not particularly bitter but delivers the good hop-flavor-wise. Worth trying!!! (1,528 characters)

Pumped from the beer engine at the downtown Great Dane. Dark orange amber body that bubbled throughout and finally settled to a tight white head with great lacing. Aroma is a big shot of floral hops. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with low carbonation. This beer has a super sweet malt profile which does a great job of balancing the intense hop flavors. I'd call the finish a sweet bitterness. Great drinkability. (419 characters)

On draught at the downtown brewpub location in Madison, Wisconsin. Pours a beautiful clear amber brew with a nearly beige head that that maintains a nice off-white head and lacing throughout the session. Aroma of light citrus and pine hops, a touch of golden grain and caramel malts, and a touch of spice. Taste is very light carbonated, some medium body with flavors of citrus hops on top of caramel malt. Finish is mild bitterness with some citrus aftertaste. Somewhat closer to an American Pale Ale style than India but still drinkable. This was my top 3 beers (others were the Black Earth Porter and the Crop Circle) from this brewpub. (639 characters)

Texas Speedbump IPA poured a dark golden color with a nice sized white head. There was a strong floral hoppy aroma. The taste was hoppy, and had strong floral notes. Very clean and crisp, and nice carbonation. Overall this is a very good American IPA, above average, very enjoyable. (282 characters)

Damn fine looking beer. Slightly darker amber body with a nice dense white head. It almost looks as if it was on nitro and it sticks to the side of the glass nicely on the way down leaving some good rings. The aroma is nice and citrusy hoppy and reminds me of some good west coast IPA. The flavor is much the same with a strong grapefruity hop flavor and an initial burst of bitterness that fades only slightly. The bitterness has some good lasting power and stays well past the aftertaste. Medium bodied although showed some flatness and possibly oxidation as it warmed up slightly. Good drinkability. (644 characters)

Another classic from Great Dane ... alas, I only make it to Madison maybe once a year ...

Pours a clear medium gold color with a slightly off white head that dissipates quickly and leaves some lacing. Nose is of pine, slightly sweet floral, and sweet malts. Palate is quite well balanced between hop aggressiveness and malt backbone. Starts slightly sweet and then the citrusy hops assert themselves. Body is light with ample carbonation. A very drinkable American IPA. Well balanced and tasty. A good standard AIPA. (520 characters)

Full pint from the cask. Completely bright after the carbonatin settles. Slightly off white head atop an amber body. Only a quarter in of head, this is wisc after all. Head is creamy and sticks around. Aroma is hoppy, medium for an ipa. All American hops. Not much malt but a little yeastyness probably due to lack of filtration.Taste is not as sharply bitter as I expected from the lack of carbonation. Fruity and pleasant, medium hop flavor and bitterness although flavor wins out. I am a bit surprised but I may describe this as more flavor than bitter, a rarity. Still an ipa though. There is barely enough balancing sweetness and the flavor is a darker caramel. 80L crystal at least I would guess.Spot on carbonation level and flavor balance for a "hand pulled" offering. Not flat, more carb than many nitro pours, this tastes fresh. There is a little bit of a metallic taste, seems like copper, which seems strange given it's served on cask. Just a hint though and not enough to mark down the score.Yeast comes through in the end creating a sensation that tells me I couldn't drink these all night but I wouldn't be opposed to another few pints (if the selection wasn't so large here at th brewpub). (1,209 characters)

Pours a clear, golden/amber color. 1/4 inch head of a white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of strong hops and slight sweet malt. Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is smooth and slightly thick with a low carbonation level. Tastes of strong hops, good earthy malt, and also a general sweetness. Overall, really smooth, well blended, and a great drinkability. (385 characters)

Transparent copper with an 1/8 inch thin but well lasting and easily reinvigorated sticky tan skim. Lacing good for style. Mellow, steady carbonation. Aroma is medicinal pine and with a tremendous amount of citrus, mostly grapefruit. Flavor is nice toffee and caramel with an impressive amount of citrus over the top and some earthy notes. Amarillo is very pronounced. Mouthfeel is on the wet side of the style, very clean, and moderately bitter. Hop heads will want more bitterness but this is just fine for me. Medium bodied but undercarbonated. Very drinkable. (563 characters)